Talking about dichotomies… I decided to pop your eyes with the 5th [and final, for now] of the series. This time I am using the X2 palette, which is really the M.Graham brand paint version of the Choate8 palette. Cool colors here are all transparent, warm colors are predominantly opaque to semi-transparent.

Raw Umber was not used in this painting, as I have been doing lately, for cost savings reasons. Instead the true [more expensiv] “mud” used in the Choate8 palette was used which is Cool Blue + Warm Red + Cool Yellow. The difference is shocking in terms how much this Dark Brown glistens.

The problem with this palette, is Viridian, Anthraquinone Red, and Hansa Yellow are only made by M.Graham in the small 37ml tubes. So its use is costly. Especially because of the Viridian.

This week I have been doing alot of indoor 8×10 paintings, in the bathroom. This is the fourth in the series. My method in this series of paintings, is to paint each new painting using the previous painting as the model. This is probably why the structure of the scene has been changing through the series. It is all good and this is all learning.

Some may call this the IOX or IRONMAN palette, and may relate it to a Velasquez palette. Especially since the white here is my use of Flake White for the first time. Since the Winsor-Newton Flake white is a mix between Zinc White [PW4] and Lead White [PW1], it becomes cooler in usage than I envisioned. So, I may not use this much in the future. But it does glisten warmly compared to some other whites [PERMALBA]. However, I still believe the Titanium White [mix of PW6&PW4] made by M.Graham is a little warmer, and safer to use.

The whole idea here was to paint based on temperature. Since this is a snow scene it makes for a nice dichotomy.

This piece is the third in a series. My friends who own the first probably are wondering where the hell I am going with this theme. So let me explain. Obama is in charge now. He emphasizes change. Each painting of this series shows change in seasons.

This painting is also the first time I used the X3 palette. It’s Details are below…

Although the cheap cell phone picture does not really show it, this is one of the darkest paintings I have ever painted. It is very reminiscent of the night scene just before the moon rises. At that time the earth may be at its stillest. If you have ever watched the moon rise [in the middle of the night] you know the stillness is overwhelmingly peaceful. Perhaps if more of us witnessed the moon rising, we would have more resolve for world peace.

In the art world one of those who affected me as a child was Andrew Wyeth. My mother took me to Chicago once to an art museum in the late 60’s or early 70’s. She made me walk with her through the entire museum so we could see every Andrew Wyeth and/or NC Wyeth painting in the show. It was like 350 paintings and it took most of the day. I was not happy, but she told me I would appreciate this at a later time. I admit I do now appreciate it. When people talk about the quality of composition that the Wyeth family executed, I agree it is very good.

There is a hermit who lives in the Sawtooths of Idaho who has a large water tank. He hand plows and cuts for his grain for the winter. He also cuts up a few trees for his heat.

In summer he takes his sheep to the high mountain valleys where the Elk are and lets them graze. With his good hearing [he does not hunt much] he listens to the Elk calls and has learned to tell where the wolves are from their discussion.

For winter he brings the sheep down to his encampment with his handbuilt house and barn. By then he has already shorn enough grain for his animals and himself for the winter. In his barn he has a still and plenty of wood. From the alcohol he produces he has enough fuel to provide a controlled light source for his small tea plantation [in the barn as well], using a generator.

He is at home what ever the season, whether at home or away; for he is at home in the mountains. Good luck finding him, for he is at home, he is a mountain man.

This is the first painting I have done using my new glasses. It breaks down close up. But suprisingly, at 10 feet it looks real.